W&M Looks to Extend Winning Streak at Towson This Weekend

04/24/08 4:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Having won five straight games and 14 of its last 16, the William and Mary baseball team will return to conference action with a three-game series at Towson this weekend. The Tribe (30-12, 13-7) enters the series in third place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings.

The College will send senior LHP Pete Vernon (5-2) to the hill in the opener, while the Tigers will counter with sophomore RHP Zach Umberger (2-2). W&M sophomore RHP Kevin Landry (2-0) will get the start on Saturday against TU’s freshman RHP Spencer Patton (3-0), while junior RHP Jeremy Neustifter (3-2) will go against junior RHP Duane Herr (2-4) in the series finale.

In its last outing, W&M earned its fifth consecutive victory with a 6-5 triumph at 16th-ranked Virginia on Wednesday evening. Junior Ben Guez extended his hitting streak to 32 games, going 3-for-5 with two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Junior Tyler Stampone also came up big and went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. On the mound, sophomore RHP Cody Winslow earned the win and improved his record to 4-1, while senior RHP Pat Kantakevich recorded his eighth save of the season and moved into a tie for second place on W&M’s single-season list.

One of the most productive offensive teams in the nation, W&M leads the conference in batting average (.342), slugging percentage (.540), runs scored (347), hits (490), doubles (112), total bases (775) and stolen bases. The Tribe also ranks second in on-base percentage (.423), RBI (305) and triples (13). Additionally, the College entered the week ranked among the nation’s best in doubles (second), batting average (fourth), hits (ninth), slugging percentage (10th), runs scored (14th) and stolen bases (15th).

Individually, Sheridan leads the conference in batting average (.435), runs scored (56), hits (73), doubles (18) and total bases (126), while he ranks second in slugging percentage (.750) and RBI (53). Entering the week, he led the nation in hits and ranked among the country’s top 20 in total bases (fourth), runs (sixth), doubles (11th), batting average (12th), RBI (15) and slugging percentage (18th). Park leads the CAA in batting average (.435) and ranks among the league’s top five in on-base percentage (.500), hits (70), doubles (17), slugging percentage (.720), runs scored (49), RBI (46) and total bases (116). He also entered the week ranked among the nation’s top 20 in hits (fourth), batting average (eighth), total bases (13) and doubles (19).

Towson enters this weekend’s series with a 22-19 record overall and an 8-10 mark in conference play. The Tigers have been especially tough to defeat at home, as they boast a 16-3 in Towson. Nick Natoli leads the team with a .361 batting average, while Brian Conley is hitting .336 with eight home runs.

Last season, the Tribe earned a three-game series sweep against TU at Plumeri Park.